The present invention generally relates to devices used for mowing lawns and turf. The invention more particularly relates to devices which are capable of mowing large areas of turf, such as athletic fields, air strips, beltways, etc., and which are also capable of picking up cuttings while mowing.
A number of different devices are known for mowing lawns and turf. These devices fall into various general categories, including a category according to the type of blade used by the device. There are three general types of blade, those types being reel, rotary and flail. Each of these blade types has a variety of advantages and disadvantages according to the particular application. Large areas of turf, generally used for athletic fields, turf farms, air strips, beltways, parks, etc., are mowed most efficiently if the mowing device has a large cutting width which reduces the amount of time and/or manpower required for mowing. Many of the devices used for mowing large areas of turf are towed behind a tractor with a three-point hitch. Other cutting devices used for large turf areas have blade assemblies, usually rotary blades, which are an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle.
Included among the towed types of mowing devices are flail blade machines, including those manufactured or distributed by Verismo, Tri-Corp and Alamo. Flail blade machines utilize a large number of individual knives which are mounted in overlapping rows to a cutter shaft or rotor. Flail blade machines may be constructed to have a large cutting width, making the devices appropriate for large turfed areas.
The grass clippings, cuttings and other debris produced by mowing must be removed if the lawn or turf is to be both visually pleasing and healthy. If cut grass is not removed, a heavy thatch will accumulate on the lawn, which will smother new grass growth, provide a nesting place for destructive insects, and can provide an environment which encourages the rapid growth of mold, fungus and other lawn diseases. For large areas of lawn or turf, which are usually mowed with tractor-type lawnmowers, manually raking the lawn after it has been mowed is obviously not a satisfactory method for removing grass cuttings. Although rake attachments are available for tractor-type lawnmowers, this method requires additional manpower and equipment usage because it requires the tractor to make another pass after mowing. Therefore, a device is desirable which is capable of efficiently mowing large areas of grass and turf while simultaneously removing the cuttings.
Devices which continuously remove grass cuttings while the turf is being mowed with a tractor-type lawnmower are well known, including vacuuming devices, such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,398 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,852. The vacuuming components of the devices disclosed within these patents consist primarily of a container mounted on the rear of the tractor-type lawnmower, a blower powered by the engine of the lawnmower, and a duct system for conveying cut grass from a side discharge opening in the cutting deck of the lawnmower to the refuse container. The lawnmowers of these patents are rotary blade-type machines.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,876 is a tractor-type lawnmower used in combination with an apparatus for continuously removing cut grass while the lawn is being mowed. A duct system conveys cut grass from a rearwardly projecting discharge opening in one side of the cutting deck to a refuse container mounted on the rear of the lawnmower. This device does not have a blower or other air pressure source to assist in conveying the cut grass through the duct system. The only source of air pressure for transporting grass cuttings through the duct system is the air movement created by the rotation of the rotary blade in the housing of the cutting deck.
The mower-vacuum devices discussed above, being rotary blade machines, have a limited cutting width which limits the efficiency of the machines for use in mowing large areas of turf. A flail blade machine does not have the same width limitations as a rotary machine and may be designed to have a larger cutting width. However, cuttings from a flail blade machine are not usually collected by the machine, but are either left on the ground or must be collected by a vacuuming device or by raking.
Another limitation of the rotary blade machines described above, and for most of the known flail blade machines, is that the cutting blades are located behind the front wheels of the tractor or drive vehicle. There are several advantages of having the blades of the mower mounted in front of the drive vehicle. Having the blades in front of the front wheels of the vehicle allows greater visibility for the operator to observe the mowing operation. A front-mounted blade allows provides a better cut because the blade encounters the turf before the wheels or other part of the drive vehicle which will otherwise flatten the turf. A flail mower having the mowing assembly mounted in front of the drive vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,794. However, the device disclosed in that patent does not have any mechanism for vacuuming or otherwise removing the clippings.
A device is desirable which provides a front-mounted flail blade assembly combined with a system which simultaneously removes the grass or turf cuttings.
The present invention is directed to a self-propelled flail mower and vacuum which meets the needs identified above. The self-propelled flail mower and vacuum comprises a drive vehicle having a frame, an operator compartment supported by the frame, an engine, a flail mower housing, a flail rotor assembly, coupling means connecting the engine to the flail rotor assembly, and a discharge chute for transferring cuttings from the flail mower housing to a cuttings basket attached to the drive vehicle. The self-propelled drive vehicle has a front and a back and wheels operably attached to the vehicle. The flail mower housing is pivotally attached to the front of the drive vehicle. The flail rotor assembly is mounted within the flail mower housing, supported by bearings. The flail rotor assembly comprises a rotor, a plurality of vanes attached to the rotor, and a plurality of flail blades pivotally attached to the rotor. The discharge chute has an intake end and a discharge end, with the intake end connected to the flail mower housing and the discharge end connected to the cuttings basket. The vanes provide positive pressure into the discharge chute, propelling cuttings from the flail mower housing into the discharge chute and out the discharge end into the cuttings basket.
A blower may be connected with duct works to the discharge chute, with the duct works terminating with a nozzle. The discharge chute may an air boost inlet located between the intake end and the discharge end adapted to receive the nozzle. A venturi is formed within the nozzle creating a vacuum for assisting cuttings through the discharge chute into the cuttings basket. Power means, such as belt drive off the engine, provide the means for powering the blower.
The cuttings basket may be pivotally attached to the frame of the drive vehicle. A hydraulic ram may be attached at one end to the frame and the other end attached to the cuttings basket, so that the cutting basket may be pivoted and emptied by operation of the hydraulic ram. Likewise, a hydraulic ram may extend from the flail mower housing to the drive vehicle, so that the flail mower housing may be raised or lowered by operation of the hydraulic ram.
The engine may be used to drive hydraulic pumps, the hydraulic pumps providing power fluid for operating the wheels. The hydraulic pumps may also provide power fluid for the hydraulic rams used for pivoting the cuttings basket and the flail mower housing.